The milmag.pl portal reports that the for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation began receiving the new AK12 carbine, chambered for the 5.45 mm x 39 cartridge.

December 20 is the day in which the public was officially informed about the delivery of the first batch of 2,500 carbines. The date of this information has been provided by the Kalashnikov Concern with the emphasis that the Russian Army being the first recipient of the new carbine is not accidental. It is connected with the information troublesome for Kalashnikov's image, which appeared on December 18, when the above-mentioned carbines were observed in the hands of soldiers from Qatar. The Qatar special forces are the next (first?) users of the AK12, and the rifle was presented by the soldiers during the parade held during a national holiday.

The first batch of the AK-12 carbines was to be divided to selected Russian military units by the end of 2018. The new carbine is to gradually replace the AK-74/AK-74M under the "Ratnik" soldier program.